Women's Royal Army Corps: Difference between revisions

The '''Women's Royal Army Corps''' ('''WRAC'''; sometimes pronounced acronymically as {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|æ|k}}, a term unpopular with its members) was the [[corps]] to which all women in the [[British Army]] belonged from 1949 to 1992, except medical, dental and veterinary officers and chaplains, (who belonged to the same corps as the men),; the [[Ulster Defence Regiment]], which recruited women from 1973, and nurses, (who belonged to [[Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps]]).

The WRAC was formed on 1 February 1949, by Army Order 6, as the successor to the [[Auxiliary Territorial Service]] (ATS) that had been founded in 1938.<ref name=history>{{cite web|url=http://wracassociation.org.uk/history|title=A Brief History of the Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps, Auxiliary Territorial Service and Women's Royal Army Corps|publisher=Women's Royal Army Corps Association|access-date=18 May 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519004905/http://wracassociation.org.uk/history|archive-date=19 May 2014}}</ref> For much of its existence, its members performed administrative and other support tasks.<ref name=history/> In March 1952 the ranks of the WRAC, which had previously been Subaltern, Junior Commander, Senior Commander and Controller were harmonised with the rest of the British Army.<ref>"Army Titles in the WRAC", ''[[The Times]]'', 20 March 1950</ref>

The highest rank available to a serving officer was [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|brigadier]], held by the Director WRAC, although the Controller-Commandant, a member of the [[British Royal Family|Royal Family]], held a higher honorary rank. [[Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood|Princess Mary]] held the post from 1949 to her death in 1965 (beginning as a [[Major-General general (United Kingdom)|major general]] and being promoted [[General (United Kingdom)|general]] on 23 November 1956) and the [[Katharine, Duchess of Kent|Duchess of Kent]] held it from 1967 to 1992 (with the rank of Major-General).<ref name=history/>

*Brigadier Dame [[Mary Anderson (Women's RoyalBritish Army Corps directorofficer)|Mary Anderson]], 1967–1970

The Staff Band of the Women's Royal Army Corps was an all female military band.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-staff-band-of-the-womens-royal-army-corps-6243|title=The Staff Band of the Women's Royal Army Corps|publisher=[[Art UK]]|access-date=18 May 2014}}</ref> It was formed in 1949, and was the only all-female band in the British Armed Forces by the time it was disestablished. The Central Band of the [[Women's Royal Air Force]], which was one of only two all-female bands to exist, transferred some of its musicians to the Band of the WRAC after it was disbanded in 1972.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/units/3189/wraf-central-band |title = WRAF Central Band - Regiment History, War & Military Records & Archives}}</ref> Since the mid-1990s, women have served in all [[British Army bands]]. The instruments, assets and personnel of the former WRAC Band became the new Band of the [[Adjutant General's Corps]].

The WRAC organizes Reunion Meetings to promote the solidarity among its past and currentformer members.